


New Beginnings

by Isolus_girl



Series: First Christmas [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:01:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28528887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isolus_girl/pseuds/Isolus_girl
Summary: Extended version of the final chapter of First Christmas. The Doctor and Rose leave Jackie on New Year's Day and take their first proper TARDIS trip since Nine regenerated into Ten.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: First Christmas [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2070249
Kudos: 9





	New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> This one wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote the extended version. There is no plot - just Ten and Rose being cute on their first trip together.

The day was here. The Doctor had long since packed his many packages and few belongings into the TARDIS. He had reluctantly moved it back out of the flat for New Year’s Eve to give them all more space. One final meal with Mickey and her Mum and they would be leaving. Jackie was emotional, although that might have been the alcohol left in her system. 

Fortunately the roast dinner was with beef and not turkey so the Doctor didn’t have to feign interest in another turkey based meal. The beef was actually surprisingly tender, Jackie had made a real effort for this meal. Rose looked around at the unlikely bunch feeling the familiar excitement build within her. This time had been good for them though, all of them. They had grown together as a family and Rose felt far more ready to set off with this Doctor than she had done a week ago. 

Mickey was quiet throughout the dinner, almost thoughtful. Rose tried to engage him in conversation, but whilst he replied, he didn’t make an effort to continue talking. She didn’t push him, Mickey would talk to her when he was ready. 

Jackie was talking at great lengths about the plans she had for this year and Rose couldn’t help but smile. Every year Jackie intended to make great changes and every year was exactly the same. As Rose helped her Mum to clear up she took the opportunity for a quiet word in the kitchen. 

Jackie pulled her in for a hug before she could start. “I’m going to miss you Rose.”

“I have to go Mum, I can't explain it, I just have to go.”

Jackie smiled half heartedly, “I won’t be the one to stop you. This Doctor might even bring you home more often, just promise me you’ll be safe, that you won’t take daft risks. If something happened to you on some distant world I’d never even know.”

“I promise I’ll do my best. I have the Doctor, he looks out for me.” 

Jackie scoffed, but let the matter drop. 

A short while later the four of them headed to the TARDIS. The snow was gone now, the sun was even shining again, but Rose wore her new burgundy hat regardless. Her red backpack carried belongings and essentials. 

Rose hugged them all in turn. As Mickey pulled her close, he said “I’ll make you proud of me, I promise.” She pulled away sharply and looked at his face, but saw only sincerity there. For a moment she debated questioning him further, but decided that he would have told her earlier if he had wanted her to know. 

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the Doctor saying an awkward goodbye to Mickey while she hugged her Mum. Things were different, relationships had changed and boundaries had moved. In many ways they all had their fresh start, they were more a family than ever. 

As the TARDIS doors closed behind her, Rose let her bag slip off her shoulders and the Doctor enveloped her in a hug. They stood like that for a moment, the gentle hum of the TARDIS filling the comfortable silence. Neither of them needed words, they both knew where they stood and how the other was feeling. It was enough for them. The Doctor separated long enough to put them into the Vortex and they settled on the Captain’s chair. 

“So, any requests?” he asked softly. “We could go with the New Year theme or we could go somewhere different altogether?”

Rose thought for a moment. This was their first proper trip together,it had to be somewhere that felt fitting. They had done so much in the last week, yet apart from a trip to the North Pole, they hadn’t even left London. 

“Somewhere new,” she finally settled on. “It’s a new start for both of us, so somewhere neither of us have been before.”

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment. He appeared to think of and discard several ideas almost simultaneously, finally darting round the console, obviously having settled on one. 

“Somewhere new, I can work with that,” he muttered as he pressed buttons, flicked switches and threw levers. The familiar wheezing sound filled the room, filling Rose with a half forgotten thrill of excitement. 

Then it stopped with a small shudder. They were here, wherever here was. 

Rose stepped forwards to the Doctor, grasping his hand. 

“Quantifer, Rose. A little known settlement at the edge of the known universe. It’s a permanent New Year celebration. I’ve been meaning to come here for years, but never found the time.” He looked down at their clasped hands. “Are you ready?”

Rose nodded, seeing the now familiar gleam in his eyes that she was sure was reflected in hers. Together they flung the doors open and stepped out. 

Whatever she had expected, it wasn’t this. It resembled a traditional village, complete with duck pond, village green and maypole. For a moment she thought they had been transported to the early 1900s. That was before she noticed the people had tails. The balloons hovered and the ducks whispered. Subtle differences. 

There was a huge marquee with tables laden with food, banners that fluttered in the breeze and the distant sound of music. Children darted in and out of the adults, who discussed events in the village and what the New Year would bring. 

Rose turned to the Doctor, “if this is a New Year celebration, how can they do it every day? Don’t they have lives to live.”

The Doctor smiled at Rose as though she had said something clever. “Time is relative, remember? A day here is roughly equivalent to three of your human months. They don’t have time to lose the joy of the new year before they’re preparing for the next one. We’ve arrived at the end of their third month.”

“How do you know so much if you’ve never been here before?” Rose narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 

The Doctor just laughed and held his hands up. “Time Lord remember. Come on, this is our new beginning.”

With that, he took her hand and led them both into the crowd. The crowd parted slightly as they walked, giving them space to make it comfortable. Together, the two of them walked aimlessly, past the duck pond towards the maypole. As they got closer, they noticed the children lining up, ready to dance so they found a clear spot. The Doctor lay his coat on the ground and they got comfortable together, both content just to watch. 

The music started and the children weaved their ribbons in and out, under and over, skipping as they went. It was exactly as Rose remembered learning in school and she smiled at the nostalgia of the moment. The Doctor squeezed her tighter as he felt her grin. 

“Drink?” he asked when the children paused in their routine. She nodded happily, content to soak up the atmosphere and the sun whilst he fetched the drinks. One of the little boys waved at her as he saw her watching, she couldn’t help but giggle when he jumped up and down in excitement when he spotted her waving back. 

The Doctor handed her a drink that was bright purple and bubbling, but tasted a little bit like Vimto. They settled in together and watched the next group of children line up. Around the maypole there were other couples and families picnicking, some familiar, traditional fairground rides with a slight twist. Although she was completely gripped by the children dancing, periodically her eyes would dart to the rides she was eager to have a go at. 

By the time they had finished their drink the children had finished. The field was again filled with the gentle hum of people talking and the Doctor and Rose headed to the carousel, the nearest of the fairground rides. Rose observed the differences between her carousels and this one as the Doctor boosted her up onto a very realistic looking horse. This one was steam powered, something she vaguely remembered as being how they started on her planet. There was no central stick, instead the horses seemed to hover like the balloons. 

As it juddered to start, the music played. Although there was no sign of anyone playing the organ, the music sounded fuller than she was used to. She let out a squeal of delight when the horse moved authentically and turned to the Doctor, who was grinning back at her. 

She honestly wouldn’t have believed that she could get such a thrill from a carousel. For the length of the ride she felt like she was souring. The Doctor waved at her occasionally, but mainly seemed content to watch her delight. 

Unfortunately the carousel left her with wobbly legs, so the Doctor suggested they just walk around the stalls whilst they recovered. The evening was just starting to draw in and whilst they had plenty of time until the New Year celebrations really began, the air was a bit too cool to sit comfortably as they had been doing. 

Of course, Rose found herself captivated by the stalls, they felt like a traditional Christmas market, like she was used to seeing at home. There were places selling warm clothing, hot drinks, slippers and even hot water bottles. A scarf caught her eye. It was thick, fluffy and pink - a perfect combination for her. She reminded herself she had several scarves, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off this one, until they arrived at the hot drink stand. The Doctor left her to buy them both hot chocolate (he reassured her it was essentially the same) whilst he made excuses about having to do something. There was only one person in front of her so she didn’t have time to watch his retreating back for long. Amazingly he had returned when she turned around with the hot drinks - he had got them both a table and was waving her over. 

“Sorted?” she asked as she sat. 

“Absolutely, everything is tickedy boo.” he made a face and she couldn’t help but laugh. 

They sipped their hot chocolate in almost silence, one of them making a comment or remark occasionally. Rose had just mentioned she would love to go on the ice skating rink when she shivered. 

“You look cold?” the Doctor questioned immediately. 

“A bit yeah, the hot chocolate is helping though.”

“Maybe you need a scarf?”

“Probably yeah, but mine are back at the-” she gaped as he pulled the fluffy pink scarf from his jacket pocket, before standing up and wrapping it round her. 

She pulled her hair out from underneath the scarf and beamed at him. “How did you?”

“Pockets are bigger on the inside, remember? I saw you eyeing it up when we were at the other stall,” he looked satisfied with himself and she grudgingly admitted he had every right to be. It was very sweet of him. 

Before the silence got awkward Rose grabbed his hand. “Come on, ice rink.” 

Of course ice rink was an exaggeration. It was probably half the size of the olympic sized one they had at home, although there was a charm of it being outside and it wasn’t busy. For some reason there was also no cold coming up from the ice, but the Doctor quickly explained that away.

“Artificial ice,” he explained simply, “no need to keep it cool so it is much lower on maintenance and works just as well.” 

Rose was delighted to find the skates were the beautiful white, lace up ones she had always eyed up as a child. She had always had the blue, buckle skates you got when you hired a pair. 

It took her a moment to reacquire her centre of balance. It had been a long time since she had been skating and the Doctor pointed out that these skates were probably much sharper than the ice rink ones. Fortunately, doing gymnastics as a child had given her an excellent sense of balance that had never really left her. It didn’t take long before she was happily skating round, holding the Doctor’s hand loosely in hers. The back and forwards glide of the skates was mesmerising, along with the lights that had begun to light up around the rink. It felt magical and she didn’t need to say anything. One look at the Doctor told her he was feeling the same way. 

He squeezed her hand, but neither of them spoke as they continued to skate round, weaving in and out of those slower than her. The little boy who had waved at her earlier was holding desperately to the side of the rink, his mother trying to coax him away. After Rose passed him twice, she slowed to a stop beside him. 

“Hey there, my name is Rose, what is yours?” 

“Andre,” he whispered, his eyes wide at the sight of her. 

“Hello Andre, would you like to skate with my friend the Doctor and I? We can take one hand each and then you don’t have to worry about falling.”

He nodded and slowly held a hand out to Rose. She took it with a smile. “Put your feet in a V shape like me and then you move your feet one at a time like this.” she demonstrated, pulling him slowly away from the wall and allowing the Doctor to take his other hand. Slowly at first, allowing time for Andre to slip and slide as he found his balance (and reassured himself they wouldn’t let him fall) they began to skate round the outside of the rink. 

“You know Andre, we learn by trying and failing. Every time we fall, it teaches us something, we learn to get back up and try again. All the best people have fallen at some point. Even famous ice skaters don’t get that good without a few falls.” 

Andre still didn’t say a word, just gaped up at the Doctor. Rose also found herself staring, still captivated by his words when they dropped Andre off with his grateful mother. She grabbed his other hand and pulled him to a stop when they reached the other end of the rink. A piece of pink fluff from her scarf had rested on her shoulder so she pulled it off, watching it float away in the gentle breeze, before she spoke. 

“You were good with him.” she observed. 

“So were you,” he grinned knowingly. 

She leant forwards to kiss him, happily distracted by the task in front of her. 

By the time night had fallen around them, leaving the dark to be lit by the magical light from stalls and candles, they were getting ready to begin the New Year celebrations properly. The Doctor had found them a spot on the field they had been on before (now scattered with floating orbs that appeared to be patio heaters), this time it already had picnic blankets in sporadic locations - not too close to remove the atmosphere, but plenty for everyone present. The two of them settled on one close to where they had been before. There was a band somewhere, Rose could hear live music, but no sign of them from where they lay. 

A hush settled upon the people and gasped as the Doctor pointed out the balloons to her. Where they had been hovering, now they rose steadily upwards, lit from within with coloured lights. When they reached overhead they grouped into a formation, although it looked like a square to Rose. Without warning, the lights all changed - some turned off, some turned the same purple colour. It was a digital clock, a countdown she realised. 5 minutes on the clock. Strangely, it was mesmerising, the crowd obviously thought so too judging by the gasps and hushed silence as the lights clicked down the seconds. 

Rose snuggled closer to the Doctor, he wrapped his arm tighter around her in response. Underneath her head she could hear his double heartbeat. It was soothing, relaxing. The lights overhead continued to change until they reached the minute. A colour change to red and they were counting down the seconds, predictably with the crowd joining in at 10. 

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, HAPPY NEW YEAR they spelled, before shooting up into the sky, exploding like fireworks in a burst of light. Traditional fireworks followed, drawing ‘oos’ and ‘aahs’ from the crowd. 

The Doctor looked down at her and smiled. “Happy New Year Rose,” he leant down and kissed her. 

Hope blossomed within her. She would always love her old Doctor, he would always hold a special place in her heart, but her future with this Doctor looked very bright indeed. 


End file.
